Mekong River

Coordinates: 10°11′20″N 106°44′56″E / 10.189°N 106.749°E / 10.189; 106.749
From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mekong River
湄公河 (Méigōng Hé) / 澜沧江 (Láncāng Jiāng)
မဲခေါင်မြစ် (Megaung Myit)
ແມ່ນ້ຳຂອງ (Maenam Khong)
แม่น้ำโขง (Maenam Khong)
ទន្លេមេគង្គ (Tônlé Mékôngk)
Sông Mê Kông / Sông Cửu Long (九龍)
Mekong River, Luang Prabang, Laos
Mekong River watershed
Location
CountryChina, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam
Physical characteristics
SourceLasaigongma (拉赛贡玛) Spring
 - locationMt. Guozongmucha (果宗木查), Zadoi, Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai, China
 - coordinates33°42.5′N 94°41.7′E / 33.7083°N 94.6950°E / 33.7083; 94.6950
 - elevation5,224 m (17,139 ft)
MouthMekong Delta
 - locationVietnam
 - coordinates10°11′20″N 106°44′56″E / 10.189°N 106.749°E / 10.189; 106.749, 10°15′41″N 106°45′11″E / 10.261291334222218°N 106.75297696603432°E / 10.261291334222218; 106.75297696603432
 - elevation0 m (0 ft)
Length4,350 km (2,700 mi)
Basin size795,000 km2 (307,000 sq mi)
Discharge 
 - locationMekong Delta, South China Sea
 - average16,000 m3/s (570,000 cu ft/s)
 - minimum1,400 m3/s (49,000 cu ft/s)
 - maximum39,000 m3/s (1,400,000 cu ft/s)
Basin features
Tributaries 
 - leftSrepok, Nam Khan, Tha, Nam Ou
 - rightMun, Tonlé Sap, Kok, Ruak

The Mekong River is a river in the south-east of Asia. It flows through many countries: China, Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and finally Vietnam. The Mekong begins in the Lasagongma Spring which is in the plateaus of Tibet, disputed part of China, and flows about 2,703 miles (4,350 km) south-east to the South China Sea. Its watershed covers 307,000 square miles (797,000 square kilometers).[1] Its name comes from the Thai language's Mae Num, or literally, "Mother Water".

The Mekong is one of the most biologically diverse areas in the world, with hundreds of types of fish, as well as river dolphins, crocodiles, and otters. Fishing is a very important activity on the river.[2] However, the Mekong River is also used extensively for navigation.

Dams[change | change source]

The river has dams:

Dams that are being built in China, are:

Dams that are being built in Laos, are:

Dams that are planned (as of 2017), include:

Related pages[change | change source]

References[change | change source]

  1. "Source of the Mekong River (Langcang Jiang)". Archived from the original on 2010-09-14. Retrieved 2009-03-29.
  2. "BIodiversity and Fisheries in the Lower Mekong Basin" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-08-24. Retrieved 2009-03-29.
  3. "Murder on the Mekong: Death by a Thousand Dams". Archived from the original on 2017-08-05. Retrieved 2017-07-27.

Other websites[change | change source]

Media related to Mekong at Wikimedia Commons

Government, corporate, environment and technical[change | change source]

Travel, culture and history[change | change source]